Investigation Board

Investigation Board

To continue on with the project I got some feedback from peers and tutors on what I can add to the scene to improve it, such as assets and composition. In response it was suggested that I fill up the empty space of the walls and floor. From this I had the idea of creating an investigation board made from newspaper articles and photographs. To start this piece I collected a variety of relevant German WW2 images such as newspaper articles, Nazi photographs, Documents and a map of central berlin during the war. To create this asset I will use a x2048 UV scale.

 Process

Once I had enough images to use for the investigation board I took them into Photoshop and arranged them in a way that I thought worked well. Once the images were set out I exported it to Maya where I traced it to create the mesh for the individual pieces of paper. I also added some folded corners in geometry try and make the pieces stand out from each other more. Once unwrapped I took the mesh into Photoshop to make the paper elements and made the remaining back board and components in Substance Painter.

Extra Props

Bottles and cans

The next thing for me to make were the smaller assets such as cans of food rations and some empty glass bottles. I found references for the kinds of food and cans that were used in Germany during WW2. These are going to be very low topology assets and I am going to use an x512 texture scale for both the cans and the bottles.

 

Process

For these cans and bottles I made 2 variants of each. To make the cans I modelled in Maya and baked in Substance Painter. I then textured the metal and the paper for the outside of the can. To finish off the texturing I took text from photo references into Photoshop and created the albedo and roughness maps for them. For the bottles I made a simple albedo and roughness map in substance and created the rest of the material in UE4.

Rug

Now that I had added something to the wall it was time to try and break up the space on the floor. To do this I decided to create an ornate rug. To do this I collected a variety of different rug designs and chose one that was good enough quality image and was fitting for the scene and time period. 

 

To create the rug I simply took the image into Maya, traced, unwrapped the UV and took the snapshot into Photoshop for texturing the albedo. The last thing to do now was to create the normal map in Substance Painter and bring the asset into the scene.  

Lightbulbs

As one of the main light sources in the scene is coming from the top of the stairs it was time to create the lightbulbs and wires to go with them. To make the lightbulbs I used 2 different materials, both on an x512 scale.

Process

To start with I modelled out the lightbulb for the top of the sitars with a basic wire to go with it. To add to the composition of the room downstairs I also decided to create a lightbulb to hang from the ceiling as currently the floorboards are blank. For this asset I made it so the wire would hang down from the ceiling to add some character and history. 

Paper and Documents

To carry on with trying to fill up a bit of wall space I started work on collecting some more images that I could use to portray some narrative to the scene. To do so I gathered some old postcards, passport, map of Europe, random documents and blueprints.

As the postcards and the smaller documents were the same shape I could use the same x2048 UV twice for these images. Once these were finished it was just a matter of adding them to the scene.

Water Container

Metal Water Container

Another asset left for me to make were some large water containers. For this I found multiple references for the design, both old and refurbished versions. This asset should be no more than 1,000 Tris and I will be using an x1024 UV scale.

Process

With sufficient references this was quite easy to model and make. Once I had baked out the normal map I took it into Substance painter to texture the painted metal which I colour picked from the reference. Finally I too the albedo map into Photoshop to create the text to go on the sides of the container.

Pillows

Pillows

The next asset that I decided to make was a pillow to lay on the bed. I wanted to create an old well used pillow, and to do this I decided that I needed to use nCloth in Maya. I found a reference of a design and pillow type that I liked and started the modelling process. This will be a very low poly asset and I will use an x1024 texture size.

 

Process

To start this I made a very basic pillow shape and smoothed it out lots of geometry. Once I had this shape I started using the nCloth functions to collapse it on itself to give it the old, saggy, well-worn look.

For the texturing I took it into substance painter and used a fabric material as a base. I then painted blue stripes over the top and added some stains. Once this asset was made I took it into UE4, and duplicated them on the bed to fill the space.

Type Writer

Type Writer

At this point in the project I thought it would be a good time to start work on the main narrative item for the scene, the type writer. For this piece I had already gathered some references for what I wanted to make. I did some extra research looking into the mechanisms and how the machine functions as well before I started modelling because I wanted to get an idea of how many different parts I was going to need to make. For this asset I will use an x2048 UV scale and due to high amounts of detail I will aim for 4,000 Tris.

Process

To start with I blocked out the type writers separate objects so I knew how many pieces I was going to need and what can be duplicated. To make the keys I made 4 different lever mechanisms for under the keys on the separate levels. All the edges for the keys are the same and I duplicated 46 separate UV’s for the tops of the keys.

 

Once I had the high and low poly objects for each individual piece of the type writer I baked it out and took it into Substance Painter. I did all the texturing apart from the letters on the keys, paint on the front of the type writer and the writer on the paper which I did in Photoshop. In Photoshop I made the albedo map and then duplicated it across to the roughness and metallic maps so that the values are correct for the paint.

 

Door

Door

ow that the main bottom area was coming along nicely I decided it was time to finish the area at the top of the stairs by making the door. For this I collected some references of some different styles and designs and ended up basing my design off the far right example. This piece will be very low poly and I will use an x2048 UV map. 

 

Process

To make the door I modelled it in Maya, and baked and textured it in substance designer. I modelled the frame and the door together as it won’t be opening in this scene. When it came to adding dirt and damage I added some scratched around the handle and at the bottom with some grime. Once the asset was finished, all that was left was to take it into UE4 and add it to the scene.

Lamp

Lamp

The next asset that I wanted to create for the scene was the lamp that would be situated on the desk in the corner. I wanted to make this next as it would allow me to finalise the lighting in the room for the assets that are in it so far. I found a good set of references for a lamp design from that period and so used that to base my model on. To make this asset I knew that I had to use 2 separate UV maps as I would be making glass for the bulb and the lamp. I decided that I was going to make the lamp in x2048 and the glass in x1024. The lamp should be no more than 2,000 Tris.

Process

I modelled out both the glass and the metal lamp together as different objects and materials. Once the maps were baked out for the metal lamp I textured everything in Substance Painter. To make the glass I create the albedo and the roughness in substance but created the glass material in UE4. Once this was in place in the scene I could get to work on fixing the lighting by making it darker and making this lamp and the light at the top of the stairs the 2 main light sources.